Spireites Fall to Defeat Against Preston North End.

Chesterfield fell to a 2-0 defeat against Preston North End on Tuesday night at the Proact Stadium, with Joe Garner netting in both the first and second period to confine the Spireites to a home defeat. Sam Hird was dismissed for a challenge early in the first 45 minutes, which gave the away side an obvious advantage as this contest progressed towards its eventual conclusion.

Paul Cook made one change from Saturday's victory over Notts County, with Byron Harrison taking the place of Armand Gnanduillet who suffered a dislocated finger at Meadow Lane.

With just two minutes on the clock, Hird was dismissed for a cynical foul on Garner who would have been through on goal if not for the defender's mis-timed tackle. Almost immediately, Cook opted to replace Daniel Jones with Charlie Raglan as part of an alteration in approach following the red card.

Waiting on the edge of the area, Garner met a lofted pass with his chest before firing low and disappointingly wide of the post. Then, on 30 minutes the visitors took the lead through Garner's glancing header that was made possible by an irresistible Kevin Davies cross from the right-hand side.

Once play was back underway, Caolan Lavery went to ground inside the area only for the referee to dismiss any claims for a penalty-kick. On the stroke of half-time, Marc Laird took matters into his own hands with a low strike from range that forced Lee into making a strong save to his right-hand side.

After the break, Harrison picked up the ball on the edge of the area before failing to readjust his feet which ultimately led to a a turnover of possession. Moments later, Sam Morsy tried his luck from range but fired straight into the path of Sam Johnstone who held with relative ease.

Harrison's header following a lofted pass from Morsy lacked conviction and Johnstone watched the ball eventually trickle out of play for a goal-kick. With just 11 minutes left to play, the away side doubled their advantage and sealed all three points courtesy of Garner's close-range finish after a goal-line scramble that came about as a result of a driven corner-kick.

As the remainder of normal time ticked away, Chesterfield continued to push with ten men but to no avail. A similar situation followed during the four minutes of additional time, as there was nothing that Cook's men could do in order to stop the Lilywhites from taking all three points back to Lancashire.